A few weeks after being taken off Nine due to poor ratings, Without a Trace finds a new home on GEM.

Without a Trace will air on GEM on Sunday nights at around 10.50pm or so, after the Sunday movie, from Sun Jan 2, 2011. It takes off from season 5, episode 1.

Without a Trace is one of those shows that seem to pop in and out of the Nine schedule, hardly ever finding a regular timeslot. Hopefully on GEM, it will settle into the late Sunday night timeslot and remain there until episodes run out.

The power of submission lies not in the ability to kneel before another, to give over one's body or in the wearing of a collar.The power of submission can be found only in the heart of one who gives her love to another freely knowing what joy and pain will come of it - Roguer

Not even a digital channel is a safe place for a new show to be allowed a chance to air regularly … well at least not when it comes to the Nine network anyway.

Rizzoli & Isles - which returned to GEM last week on Tuesday (Jan 18) has been dumped from GEM’s schedule for the second time.

Instead, The Closer will air at 10.30pm Tuesdays, starting from the pilot this Tue Jan 25.

No idea what will happen to Rizzoli & Isles, or even if it will get a third chance.

Here’s a thought: If they (The Nine network) do not want to air shows like these in prime time, for fear of losing a few ratings points, then why not after midnight, when it no longer counts towards the ratings rat race? Why not even after 2am instead of having Home Shopping on three channels at once?

For the record, this was a new show I was going to give a go. When it first aired in December, I missed out due to an equipment failure. I then thought I could pick it up from the 2nd or 3rd episode, but it was taken off air. Then I saw it would be on Tue Jan 18. I recorded it to try again. Haven’t watched it yet - but what will be the point of watching it anyway, if the show is no longer airing?

Next week, and even more so the week after, we will suddenly be bombarded with so much first run content - season returns and new shows - that there will barley be time left to give new shows on digital channels a look in, let alone getting through all the new offerings on the main channels.

Some bad news for some of the first run content on GEM, with some last minute programming changes pushing Southland back half an hour from tonight (Mon Jan 31) and Hotel Babylon back half an hour as of Wednesday night (Feb 2).

Tonight (Mon Jan 31), an episode of Friends will air at 11.15 after the movie, with Southland now starting at 11.45pm. Same will happen next Monday (Feb 7) with Southland on at 11.40pm.

On Wednesday, Hotel Babylon gets the same treatment - being moved back to an 11pm start time, with Friends at 10.30pm. That also means that Conan is not on until midnight.

These changes come less than a week after new show Rizolli & Isles was bumped from Tuesday night.

I can understand tweaking of the schedule to help ratings, but making the change as of tonight? How can that possibly help ratings? It’s more likely to annoy fans of Southland who have to wait up another half an hour for their show. Then there will be some who turn off, thinking it is not on instead. Are they trying to kill it off?

What is the point? Do we really need another episode of Friends instead of starting these shows when they were originally scheduled??

The power of submission lies not in the ability to kneel before another, to give over one's body or in the wearing of a collar.The power of submission can be found only in the heart of one who gives her love to another freely knowing what joy and pain will come of it - Roguer

The power of submission lies not in the ability to kneel before another, to give over one's body or in the wearing of a collar.The power of submission can be found only in the heart of one who gives her love to another freely knowing what joy and pain will come of it - Roguer

The power of submission lies not in the ability to kneel before another, to give over one's body or in the wearing of a collar.The power of submission can be found only in the heart of one who gives her love to another freely knowing what joy and pain will come of it - Roguer

GEM Avoids a Law & Order conflict with Ten tonight. More Mentalist repeats.

Seems that GEM only just noticed that Ten have scheduled new episodes of season 20 of Law & Order at 9.30pm tonight - the same time that GEM have scheduled classic Law & Order from season 6.

So, to avoid conflicts with Law & order fans, and as a result, GEM makes another very last minute programming change.

GEM will avoid the Law & Order conflict, by playing double The Mentalist from 8.30pm tonight Fri Feb 18, and every Friday from 8.30pm, thereby leaving classic Law & Order at 10.30pm. The change of course affects the late night replays.

This now means, that between Nine and GEM, there are four episodes a week of The Mentalist. Two new ones on Nine on Sunday, two repeats on GEM on Friday. Bit of over exposure maybe?

GEM have also changed their mind about Sunday night after the Infiltration encore. Crime Investigation Australia will now play at 10.30 instead of the Maria Korp Story.

This will also be the case for the following week, with Crime Investigation Australia at 10.30 instead of Jindabyne.

Finally, on Monday Feb 28, Southland is no longer on, replaced by Friends and The Zoo.

The power of submission lies not in the ability to kneel before another, to give over one's body or in the wearing of a collar.The power of submission can be found only in the heart of one who gives her love to another freely knowing what joy and pain will come of it - Roguer

Sunday Mar 6 at 10.45pm will be Primetime Crime, instead of Birds of a Feather. The movie Chisum follows at 11.40pm.

Wed Mar 9 - its on, its off, its on again - the extra episode of The Zoo at 7.30pm. But only for one week. That is followed by As Time Goes By, instead of The Golden Girls. The Zoo is normally on Monday - Friday 7pm as well as Mondays at 7.30pm.

At 8.30, the movie is Presumed Innocent, instead of Fracture.

Moving to Friday March 11, at 9.30 will be an encore of Harry’s Law. Harry’s Law premieres on Nine Sunday March 6 at 9.30pm, the encore on GEM will be in HD and will be ongoing at this stage. It replaces the second episode of the Mentalist that was scheduled for Fridays at 9.30pm.

Sunday March 13, at 11.10pm is first run Biography - Serial Killers, followed by the movie Dodge City at midnight.

Wednesday March 16, the series return of Trouble in Paradise will air at 8.30pm.

Hear the incredible stories of travellers who've been subjected to terrifying experiences while on holidays in different parts of the world. They escaped with their lives, but it could easily happen to any one of us. Tonight, Aussie chef and his Polish fiancée celebrate their engagement but are brutally bashed by thugs and pursued by corrupt police.

This replaces the first run premiere of Gordon’s Great Escape - a show already promoted by some media as one to watch on GEM. No word on where Gordon’s Great Escape will now land, but its out of GEM’s schedule for now.

The power of submission lies not in the ability to kneel before another, to give over one's body or in the wearing of a collar.The power of submission can be found only in the heart of one who gives her love to another freely knowing what joy and pain will come of it - Roguer

GEM have reacted to almost being beaten in ratings by ONE HD last night by rescheduling their Wednesday nights.

Next Wednesday, March 23, Trouble in Paradise will be replaced with The Closer. And, instead of a movie at 9.30, two episodes of classic Law & Order will play.

The line up will be the same for March 30, with The Closer at 8.30, followed by two Law & Orders from 9.30. Conan at 11.30.

The Closer episodes at 9.30 Tuesday nights are from season 5, while the Wednesday night episodes will be from season 1.

Meanwhile, Gordon’s Great Escapes will air Monday nights at 8.30, from March 21.

The power of submission lies not in the ability to kneel before another, to give over one's body or in the wearing of a collar.The power of submission can be found only in the heart of one who gives her love to another freely knowing what joy and pain will come of it - Roguer

For those watching The Closer on Tuesdays at 9.30pm GEM will move straight into Season 6 on April 19, after the final of S5 on April 12.

The power of submission lies not in the ability to kneel before another, to give over one's body or in the wearing of a collar.The power of submission can be found only in the heart of one who gives her love to another freely knowing what joy and pain will come of it - Roguer